Wasteland Marshals by Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin

Author:Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin [Martin, Gail Z. & Martin, Larry N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falstaff Books
Published: 2019-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

8

“You want me to sit still while you attack me?” Lucas’s eyebrows practically crawled up his forehead. They had settled in a quiet room with a cozy fire and comfortable pillows for sitting on the floor. Shane felt intrigued at the opportunity to learn from the witches, but he wasn’t surprised that Lucas’s reaction was far more skeptical.

Karen shook her head. “Not a physical attack. A psychic one.”

Lucas quirked a thumb at Shane. “He’s the one with mojo. I just shoot things.”

Karen shot a look at Shane for support. He just smiled and nodded, confirming what she already had probably figured out about Lucas. Shane loved him like a brother, but Lucas could be a serious asshole when he wanted to be.

“And if you don’t learn to shield as much as possible, then you become a liability, a distraction, a target which will get your partner dead,” Karen replied evenly, narrowing her eyes in challenge.

Shane bit back a snort, wishing he had popcorn to watch the battle of wills. Karen had nailed Lucas’s soft spot, and from the grim line of his partner’s mouth, Lucas knew it.

“Fine. But don’t blame me if it’s a waste of time,” Lucas muttered.

Lucas and Shane settled in, crossing their legs and getting comfortable. Even when he closed his eyes, Shane could sense Lucas’s impatience. He didn’t need to look at this friend to know Lucas was twitching—jiggling his knee, tapping his fingers, biting his lip. Lucas never sat completely still, unless he was on sniper duty. Then all of that nervous energy turned into lethal focus.

Shane didn’t recognize the assault for what it was at first. It started slow and gentle, easily mistaken for meandering thoughts until pulling back turned difficult. He forced himself to take a deep breath and stop struggling, then gathered his resources and pushed back with an effort of will. The invasive thoughts winked out.

Beside him, Lucas’s restlessness took on a more frantic cast, and he swore under his breath. Shane opened his eyes and saw his friend’s face twist in discomfort, while Lucas’s entire body had gone rigid with the effort of fighting off the mental incursion.

All of a sudden, Lucas fell forward, released from the assault. The glower on his face told Shane that the other man knew he’d been let go, instead of freeing himself.

“Now you see what I mean,” Karen said mildly. Lucas glared but wisely kept his thoughts to himself.

“So we can use these skills to keep from being distracted by entities like the daemons?” Shane asked.

Karen nodded. “Distraction would be the least invasive, but it could be deadly if it disrupted your focus in the middle of a fight.”

“What kind of attack do you really think is likely?” Lucas wiped the sweat from his forehead. Despite his skeptical attitude, he looked flushed from the effort of fighting off the mental assault. That meant he was taking the training seriously, Shane knew.

“This.”

Between one breath and the next, Shane found himself plunged back into the chaos of the first weeks after the Events.

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